FLAPE is an approach to tiered storage that relies on two storage technologies, flash plus tape.

This approach uses flash storage as primary storage but also writes a copy to a linear tape file system. When the data is being accessed frequently, it is recalled from flash. When the data is no longer being accessed frequently, it can be deleted from flash storage and the permanent, archival copy will still reside on tape.

FLOUD, a similar approach to tiered storage, also uses flash for primary storage and cloud storage for secondary storage. Both approaches allow storage administrators to store data immediately into the archive as it is written to primary storage so that instead of moving data into the archive at some later point in time, a file that has reached its archive point can simply be deleted from the primary storage.

Quote of the Day

“In a conversation with an industry insider the other day, I was warned to stand by for a lot of noise about flape. It might just be ‘the next big thing’ in storage architecture, I was told.” — Jon Toigo

An electronic resume is a plain text (ASCII), PDF or HTML document that provides an employer with information regarding a job candidate’s professional experience, education, and job qualifications and is meant to be read by a computer program instead of by a human being.

Many large companys process all their incoming resumes electronically by using an automated applicant tracking systems (ATS) or subscribing to a resume scanning service that scans resumes as images and uses optical character recognition (OCR) software to read the text. Essentially, the information contained on the resumes is entered into a relational database so when the company needs to hire new talent, someone from the human resources management (HRM) department can query the database for possible candidates. Resumes that match a specified score for keywords that were identified by the hiring manager are then selected for human review.

On the electronic resume, keywords can be stated in a separate keyword section, or they can be integrated into the text. The font should be simple and all text should be aligned to the left. Do not use underlining, bolding, italics or bullets as these can confuse older OCR software programs. In general, action verbs like "managed" or "facilitated", which are recommended for use in paper resumes, are not effective in electronic resumes because most ATS keywords are nouns.

Since computers read resumes differently than people do, recruiters recommend that job hunters should prepare two versions of their resume: a simple, electronic one for talent analytics programs and a more creative one printed on quality paper to hand deliver to someone within the organization or bring to an interview.

Quote of the Day

"Although they originally evolved to help employers scan paper resumes into a database, do basic screening and trace an applicant’s path through the interview and hiring process, today’s tracking systems are programmed to scan for keywords, former employers, years of experience and schools attended to identify candidates of likely interest." – Lauren Weber

SMAC (social, mobile, analytics and cloud) is the concept that four technologies are currently driving business innovation. SMAC creates an ecosystem that allows a business to improve its operations and get closer to the customer with minimal overhead and maximum reach. None of the four technologies can be an afterthought because it’s the synergy created by social, mobile, analytics and cloud working together that creates a competitive advantage.

A guide for CIOs: SMAC strategy and governance
Read this Essential Guide to learn how SMAC technologies are changing the way businesses run. Explore the benefits of a SMAC strategy and find expert tips on SMAC governance best practices.

Hardware-as-a-service (HaaS) is a procurement model that is similar to leasing or licensing. In the hardware-as-a-service model, hardware that belongs to a managed service provider (MSP) is installed at a cutomer’s site and a service level agreement (SLA) defines the responsibilities of both parties.

Quote of the Day

“Vendors as well as distributors and independent finance companies are being forced to be more dynamic with their offerings as customers grow fond of paying for IT solutions on a monthly recurring payment model as an operating expense, with little interest in owning anything.” – Lynn Haber

A cloud storage gateway is a stand-alone computing device or a virtual machine (VM) located on the customer premises that serves as a bridge between local applications and remote cloud-based storage. As the market has evolved, some vendors have dropped the word “gateway” in favor of the word “controller” to emphasize the idea that their gateway products do more than just translate protocols and serve as a bridge.

Quote of the Day

“Call them cloud controllers, cloud storage enablement or maybe cloud-integrated storage. Just don’t call them cloud storage gateways, at least not when you’re talking to any of the vendors who sell these intelligent cloud storage systems.” – Ellen O’Brien

OpenStack is an open source infrastructure as a service (IaaS) initiative for creating and managing large groups of virtual private servers in a data center. The goals of the OpenStack initiative are to support interoperability between cloud services and allow businesses to build Amazon-like cloud services in their own data centers. OpenStack, which is freely available under the Apache 2.0 license, is often referred to in the media as “the Linux of the Cloud” and is compared to Eucalyptus and the Apache CloudStack project, two other open source cloud initiatives.

Quote of the Day

“IaaS is the most basic form of cloud computing; it offers essentially a virtual, bare machine as a service.” – Tom Nolle

Mobile desktop virtualization is the delivery of a virtual machine (VM) image to run business applications on a tablet or smartphone. To the end user, the software applications on the VM — as well as the operating system (OS) and the data associated with the applications — appear as if they are being served from the mobile device. In reality, they are all being served from a data center. When the session ends, the applications will no longer be available on the mobile device and any sensitive data from the session will be stored in the data center and erased from the device.

Quote of the Day

“…running a Windows desktop or application on a mobile device often results in a usability death spiral where users must excessively pan to see missing parts of the screen, or pinch and zoom to access dialog boxes or radio buttons.” – Matt Kosht

COPE (corporate-owned personally-enabled) is a business model in which an organization provides its employees with mobile computing devices and allows the employees to use them as if they were personally-owned notebook computers, tablets or smartphones.

Quote of the Day

“Under the COPE model, workers use devices for personal tasks that are within reason, but it’s that ‘within reason’ part that companies have to worry about. On the surface, it might sound like a sensible approach, but trying to get any two people — let alone an entire organization– to agree on what is ‘within reason’ is almost impossible when it comes to personal use.” – Robert Sheldon

An application programming interface (API) is code that allows two software programs to communicate with each other.

Quote of the Day

“One practical issue with keeping applications running in the cloud is the sheer number of software API’s that change constantly. Keeping up with the changes is costly, time-consuming and can make a code base quite fragile.” – Amy Reichert

About This Blog

Overheard in the tech blogosphere is like an impressionist painting about information technology. Close up, it’s just a bunch of colorful quotes. Take a step back and look at all the posts together — and you begin to see a picture.